With the development of the Internet, users can access necessary information at anywhere and anytime.
Conventionally, access to information via the Internet was mainly realized by a web browser. The web browser is a software for displaying a variety of information retrieved from a web server when a user's computer is connected to the Internet. Currently, the web browser is developed so as to be easily used by only clicking a mouse several times in combination with a variety of Internet functions such as file transfer protocol (FTP), Telnet, News or Gopher as well as the World-Wide Web (WWW).
There are various types of web browsers. Among them, Internet Explorer of Microsoft Corporation and Communicator of Netscape Corporation are being most widely used.
The web browser includes an address bar for inputting the address of information to be accessed. A user can confirm necessary information by inputting a uniform resource locator (URL), such as a domain name or an IP address, in the address bar.
Recently, many users use a searching service and want to easily access a site which is frequently used. However, if only the web browser is used, it is inconvenient to access information.
For example, when a user wants to search for a specific keyword, the user inputs the address of a site for providing a searching service in the address bar of the web browser, confirms a main web page of the site, and inputs a desired keyword in a searching bar included in the main web page. That is, it is inconvenient that many processes have to be performed to conduct the keyword search.
In order to remove such inconvenience, a content provider provides a toolbar service for facilitating access to information by a user.
A toolbar is activated in a predetermined region at the time of executing the web browser and includes a keyword inputting bar and a variety of additional function buttons. When the user inputs a keyword in the inputting bar of the toolbar, a site for providing the toolbar directly provides the searched result to the user.
The toolbar performs additional functions such as desktop searching and popup blocking in addition to a web searching function and performs a function for generating interfaces related to these functions in a toolbar region.
Due to the convenience of the toolbar and the variety of additional functions, the use of the toolbar has been increased. However, a conventional toolbar cannot provide a customized service to the user.
In addition, in spite of that the type (for example, Naver, Hangame, Nexon or the like) of a site, which is frequently used, varies according to the user and the type of a low-level service used in the site varies according to the site, the conventional toolbar service provides a uniform menu for a searching service. Accordingly, it is difficult to satisfy a variety of desires of users.